MOB PSYCHO ONE SHOTS
by KINKYyogurt
Summary: Just some funny and maybe not-so-short stories about the daily life of mob psycho characters. Some of them may follow a storyline.
1. Esper kids go to watch a horror movie!

"Kageyama-kun!"

Exclaimed a boy with blond hair as a certain pair of esper brothers approached to the movie theater's entrance.

"Ah! Hi, Hanazawa-kun!"

Said Mob while a small smile apeared in his face.

"Hello to you too, little brother!"

"Hi, Hanazawa-san"

Said Ritsu while frowning for a second, aparently Teruki still refused to use his name. Well, he was already used to it so he guessed it didn't matter that much.

"Yo!"

Exclaimed a voice. The three teens turned around to see another kid with red hair are bright blue eyes.

"Hi Suzuki-kun"

"Hi, could you please not scream?"

"Hi little brother's friend!"

Greeted the three boys while Shou grinned at them.

"Ready to watch the new THING remake?!"

Asked Shou exited.

"I don't know... Why are we going to see a horror movie anyways? We all can see ghosts, what is the point in watching a movie about an evil ghost clown?"

"Beacuse! It's FUN!"

"Maybe to you, Shou..."

"Hmph! Maybe your just scared and won't admit it!"

Said Shou mockingly to Ritsu.

"Oh... Are you scared Ritsu? We can watch a different movie if you want."

"W-what?! Nii-san I'm not scared! Please don't worry!"

"Oh, okay"

"Yeah... well, anyways, are we going to enter?"

"Oh, sure Hanazawa-kun"

With that, the small group went inside to purchase their tickets. Meanwhile a girl with short brown hair was waiting for her friends inside the theater when her phone buzzed. She took it out and opened the chat. She frowned as she read the message of one of her friends which said she couldn't come after being grounded for suspending her math's exam.

"Ahhh"

Sighed Emi. First Mezato-chan couldn't come because of her grandma falling ill and now this, today was not one of her luckiest days.

"Well, guess I'll go home."

Said Emi to herself with resignation. As she started walking away Mob suddenly noticed her.

"Emi-san!"

"Eh?"

Emi turned around and saw Mob and three boys who seemed to be two of his friends and his little brother. Teruki, Ritsu and Shou stopped and looked at the girl. Different toughts went through their minds, while Teruki was curious about who the girl might be, Shou wondered if she was Mob's classmate or something, and Ritsu frowned when he recognized her as the girl who used to "date" his brother.

"Kageyama-kun! Hi!"

Mob smiled and said:

"How are you? I haven't see you around school lately. Are you waiting for your friends?"

"Oh, em... actually I was going home, my friends couldn't come so..."

"Oh, I see."

Everyone went quiet for a minute before Teruki decided to break the uncomfortable silence.

"So, what movie were you going to watch? Maybe you could come with us!"

"Oh, thanks, but I don't want to intrude."

"It's okay Emi-san, we don't mind, right guys?"

Said mob looking at the others.

"Yeah sure! No prob!"

"I wouldn't have asked otherwise"

"Sure"

Said Ritsu without trying to sound convicing, he didn't really like Emi, after all she tried to play with his brother's feelings, or so he tought since Mob hadn't really told him the whole story. He was definetly going to watch her carefully.

"Well then...we were going to watch the new romatic comedy Starstruck...emm, what movie are you going to watch?"

"THING, the horror movie."

Answered Shou.

"Are you okay with watching tha one Emi-san?"

"Sure! I actually prefer watching that one."

"Really?"

"Yeah, I'm not really a fan of romance, actually."

"Great! Let's go then, emm..."

Paused Teruki not knowing how he should call her.

"Emi, Adashino Emi"

"Nice to meet you, Adashino-san, I'm Hanazawa Teruki"

"And I'm Suzuki Sho!, You can call me Sho!"

"N-nice to meet you Hanazawa-san, Sho-kun...c-call me Emi if you want!"

"You probably already know who my brother is"

Said Mob as he looked at Ritsu.

"I'm Ritsu"

"Nice to meet you, eh... should I call you Kageyama too?"

"Ritsu is fine"

"O-okay"

After that the group went to buy the tickets and popcorn, then they entered the room where the movie was going to be proyected.

"So, do you like horror movies Adashino-san?"

Asked Teruki.

"Yeah! You could say I'm an expert in the genre. Do you have a favourite?"

"I like Flying dead pig, have you seen it?"

"Of course! That one is a classic! Have you watched The witch of Pepperhills?"

"Sure, that one is also a classic, I love how even with a low budget they created a whole new kind of movies with the found-footage format!"

"I know right?! The screenwritting is just the best, it scares you without using any special efects except some sound efects and some decoration in the woods! The guys who made it were really talented!"

As Teruki and Emi discussed about other horror movies Mob listened to them, glad that the two were getting along.

"Wow, they really are getting along huh? Next time we see them they'll be in a date."

"Huh?"

"What are you saying Shou? They just met and are talking about something they like, it's not as if they suddenly like each other."

"Oh, come on Ritsu! Teruki is definetly popular between girls, it'll be weird if she at least doesn't get to like him a little bit!"

"Well, maybe you do have a point..."

As Mob overheard his brother and Shou, he started to frown, Emi and Teruki... Could Emi-san like Hanazawa-kun? While Shou was right about Teruki being popular he doubted Emi-san would like him, no, it's not that he doubted she could like him, it was more as if he didn't want to think about her liking Hanazawa-kun but couldn't quite tell the reason why he felt like that. After all, there was no reason for him to feel like that, right? Teruki was his friend, and while he and Emi-san had been hanging out, sometimes eating together at lunch and sometimes to study (mostly for literature, since Emi was really good at it she offered to help him), it wasn't as if he knew her that well and yet, why did the thought of her liking Hanazawa-kun irritate him?

Before he could get to the answer of this, Mob's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as soon as the lights went out and the movie started to play. Deciding to think about the previous matter later, Mob moved a little in his seat and got comfortable in order to watch the movie.

Okay, so maybe the movie was not-that-bad in scaring people. Maybe he was scared. A little... a little too much. Ritsu had underestimated the movie, the clown was scary, really, really scary. He will not admit it though. His pride won't let him.

"Ughh"

Another jumpscare. If this continous like this he is going to have nightmares later. Yep, he will not see a horror movie ever again.

"Ahhh!"

Shou screamed, again. He liked this kind of movies. That did not mean he didn't get scared. Maybe he was a masochist... still, it was fun.

"D-do you want to hug me?"

Offered Ritsu, trying to hide the fact that he too was scared.

"Re-really?"

Ritsu nodded.

"T-then thanks"

On the other hand, Teruki, Mob an Emi were perfectly fine, well, at least Mob and Emi were. Thruth be told, Teruki was also a little scared, wich was rare, he was usually good with horror movies, well maybe it was because this one was actually well done and didn't suck like others normally do. Now as for Mob and Emi... well, their reactions were kind of... contrasting each other's. While Mob's expresion was blank as usual, Emi was laughing. She was silently laughing. How could she actually laugh at this? She was even enjoying it! And Ritsu had thought she would be the first one to get scared.

"Pfff!"

Emi tried to stifle her laugh. She was having so much fun. The movie was really well done, it was better than the old one, the efects were great and she really liked how they added more blood in the first scene, it was more realistic that way. Plus the reactions of the people around her were funny. She probably shouldn't laugh at them...

"Oh! That was good, the death of this character is way better than the one in the old movie!"

Whispered Emi to Mob and Teruki.

"Oh, really? That's great"

Whispered Mob back at her.

Seriously, how aren't they scared? Wondered Teruki, Shou and Ritsu. They won't be able to sleep tonight.

"I had a lot of fun today! Thanks for letting me come with you!"

Thanked Emi as they walked outside of the theater.

"I'm glad you had a good time with us Adashino-san"

"W-well, I think I'll be going home now so I guess I'll see you another day!"

"Bye Suzuki-kun!"

"Goodbye, Shou!

"Bye, little brother's friend!"

"Bye and nice to meet you Shou-kun!"

"I'm also going to go home. We should come again sometime!"

"Yeah! Bye Hanazawa-kun!"

"Unil next time Hanazawa-kun!"

"Bye,Hanazawa-san"

Now only Mob, Ritsu and Emi were left. The three started to walk home together since Emi's way home was also in the ame direction. Soon they reached the point where their ways separated.

"Emi-san, I'll walk you home"

"Ah you don't have to Kageyama-kun! I can go alone!"

"Nii-san it's not that late, she'll manage"

"Yeah, don't worry about it"

Ritsu tryied to convince his brother for a few minutes, he still didn't trust the girl and certainly didn't want his brother to spend more time with her. As for Mob, he wanted to accompany her but noticed that Ritsu wasn't a fan of the idea so he decided to give up and let Emi go home alone. Weird, why was Ritsu acting so...overprotective? Annoyed? Mob couldn't tell exactly why his little brother was so persistent in not letting him go with Emi. He'll ask Ritsu later at home, it's better to talk directlly to his brother that try to guess the problem.

And so, the day ended with Emi, Ritsu and Mob going to their homes.

And with Ritsu, Shou and Teruki waking up in the middle of the night several times due to the nightmares caused by the movie.


	2. Let's never talk about this again

Why was she doing this again?

Oh yeah, Mezato-san. That's why. Worst, she didn't even have the right to complain, after all, it was her who agreed to help Mezato, unfortunately it was already too late to go back now... she had already followed Mezato in a moment of sheer stupidity to this shady part of the city. Yep, this was a bad idea. A really BAD idea.

"Umm, Mezato-san... don't you think is already time to go back home? It's getting dark..."

"Eh? Oh, don't worry, Emi-chan! I've been here thousand of times, I know the place like the back of my hand!"

"Oh, that's great..."

That doesn't help at all. Why can't she just get the hint?! Thought Emi after trying for what must have been the third time to convince Mezato to go home and failing miserably. And to think this morning she had thought today was going to be a good day. Apparently Mezato had other plans.

...*THIS MORNING*...

Emi was at school, some time had passed after the whole 'fake dating' fiasco and she was finally getting more confident with her writting, and today, she was currently walking to the journalism club to see if the members could allow her to publish her new short story.

"Pardon the intrusion, good morning!"

"Ah! Emi-chan, hi!"

"Hi, Mezato-san"

No long after the incident with mob, she had talked with her old 'friends' and decided it was best not to hang with them anymore. Shortly after, Emi met Mezato at the library one day. Their first encounter was, peculiar. She was looking into the old archives of the city for material to place the timeline of her new novel when she saw a girl with the Salt middleschool, long story short they both ended up discovering a series of mysterious murders that had been happening for two hundred years up until today and went in an adventure to end an ancient curse.

"You arrived just in time, Emi!"

"Eh? Why?"

Mezato got up from her seat and asked

"Emi, do you remember anything about the sacred tree that appeared after that incident with the terrorist group that attacked the city?"

"You mean that giant tree that looked like a brocoli?"

"Yes!"

"I don't remember much, why?"

"Well, its just, don't you find it weird? Everyone's attention was directed to the sacred tree atthat time, and then, it suddenly disappeared but no one said nothing!"

Said Mezato while pulling out a small notebook out of her pocket.

"And it doesn't stop there. There was a cult I was in contact with, at first, when I was just investigating the rumors about them, they were called the LOL cult but then Mo... er their leadee got beaten up by someone else and they changed the name to the psycho helmet cult"

"Wait, you were in a cult?"

"I was only in contact in them, I would never be stupid enough to join one, so anyways back to the main point, when the sacred tree appeared the cult members thought it had something to do with their new leader..."

"Do you think they had something to do with the dissappearance of the tree?"

Interupted Emi now curious about where Mezato was trying to go.

"That's the thing, I don't know, and neither do them. Not long ago I decided to check my old interviews and for some reason there is absolutely nothing about the time when the sacred tree appeared and dissappeared!"

"Really? You have nothing in your records? And you say they don't kniw either? Well I guess that IS strange."

"Yeah, I have even asked a lot of people both in and outside of school but not even a single soul seems to be able to remember anything regarding the dissappearance of the tree!"

"Well, it's a mistery you'll have to solve right?"

"Yeah, I'm going to interview some of the old members of the cult and I was hoping you could help me"

"Oh, I'm sorry Mezato-san, I can't I have some things to do today, anyway I actually came her to ask if you could publish this short story I wrote in the school's newspaper"

"Sure!"

"Really?!"

"Yeah, I can publish your story IF you help with the interviews."

And that's how she ended up here, in the back alleys with Mezato interviewing some rabdom guy hoping she can go home safe and sound.

"This isn't going to be fine."

Mumbled Emi to herself. Meanwhile Mezato was finishing talking with the ex-member of the psycho helmet cult.

"So you really don't remember anything?"

"Sorry kid, but no."

"Ahh, okay. Thank you for your time"

Said Mezato with resignation.

"Goodbye!"

"Yeah, goodbye"

Mezato put her notebook inside her pocket and walked where Emi was.

"So, how did it go? Did you get anything?"

"Ugh! No, he is just like the rest. He couldn't remever anything!"

"Maybe you should leave it. I mean, no one, not even us can remember it, I doubt you'll be able to find anyone who does remember."

"Maybe, but I don't know... it doesn't feel right to ignore it... I know I can solve it! I just haven't asked the right one yet!"

"If you say so... but I really think we should go home and continue tomorrow"

Said Emi while both girls walked to the exit of the alley.

"Hey!"

Said an unknown voice. The girls turned around to see who had called them, they were nervous, a stranger was calling them in an alley and it was getting dark. This couldn't be good.

"Aren't ya' too young to be here at this hour? It could be dangerous ya' know?"

"We were just going home sir, it's not that far so don't worry"

Replied Mezato trying to show some confidence. The man was tall and scary, he looked like he had some bad intentions.

"Still, I'd feel bad if I were to leave two young ladies alone in the streets"

"It really isn't necessary! We'll be fine!"

Now Emi was worried, the man wasn't going to go. They needed to get out of there quickly.

"Ya' see, I wasn't asking for your permision"

Suddenly the man got closer and tryied to grab Mezato's arm, but Emi was faster and kicked him between his legs before he could reach Mezato.

"Quick, run!"

Emi grabed Mezato and pulled her in the direction of the exit, the man recovered and went after them.

"Come on Mezato! Keep running we're almost at the main street!"

The two girls reached the main street before the man could get to them. Still they kept running until Emi crashed with someone.

"Ughh!"

"Ouch!"

"Emi! Are you okay?"

" Yeah, I'm okay"

Said Emi.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry sir, I didn't mean to hit you!"

"It's okay, just be carefull and don't run in crowded places next time"

Replied a young man in a grey suit and blonde hair.

"Oh, hey Reigen-san"

Greeted Mezato after recognizing him as Mob's famous (or rather infamous) 'master'.

"You know him?"

"Yeah his Mo..."

"Master Reigen I'm here. Sorry, they didn't have the flavour you asked me so I bought you this one insstead."

"Ah Mob! Thank you!"

"Kageyama-kun..."

"Yo' Mob-kun!"

Shigeo turned around and smiled softly as he saw his two friends.

"Oh, hi Mezato-san, Emi-san. What are you doing here?"

"Oh we were just searching for information about a new case I'm currently working on, Emi-chan is helping me to investigate!"

"Just because you suborned me..."

"Haha! What are you talking about Emi-chan?"

Mezato laughed nervously while Mob and Reigen looked at each other confused.

"A-anyway, what brings you here, Mob-kun?"

"Ah, well we were..."

"Doing an important exorcism of course!"

"An exorcism?"

Asked Emi while rising an eyebrow. Did she really hear right? The man, Reigen, had said they were doing an exorcism? Emi was confused, Mob hadn't told her he did exorcisms. Of course, she already knew he had psychic powers, but she never knew he was an exorcist.

"Exactly! I, Reigen Arataka, am the greatest exorcist of the 21st century! And I'm also Mob's master and boss!"

"I thought you worked at a library?"

"Ah, yeah well... About that, erm I..."

He messed up. He told Emi a lie because he thought she would think he was weird but now his plan was backfiring on him making it more embarrassing. He had to fix this.

"I couldn't tell you the truth because master Reigen said it was safer that way."

"What? I don't rem..."

"Because normal people could get into trouble or hurt! Right master?"

Reigen looked at Mob shocked at the boy's insistence on the matter and, after being silent for a few seconds, he recovered and quickly joined in the act. After all, he was a con-man wasn't he? He would have to ask Mob about this later though.

"Ah- yes, of course! I'm sorry my student had to lie to you, but you must understand that the path of an exorcist is dangerous, so we have to make sure our loved ones do not get involved with the paranormal world!"

"Oh, okay then..."

Emi was not convinced by that. To be honest, it sounded like a rushed cheap excuse, but she decided to not say anything about it, after all Shigeo must have had a good reason to tell her a lie, besides its not like it was hurting anyone. Meanwhile Mezato was just observing the interaction while wondering what was happening. She wasn't understanding a thing...

"Ah!"

Suddenly Mezato remembered why Emi and her were there in the first place. It was definitely a good thing they had encountered with Mob and Reigen, maybe they had the information she needed!

"Hey Mob! Can I asl you a few questions?"

"Is it about the pyscho helmet cult again?"

"Don't worry it's not"

"Wait, you are also involved with that cult?!"

"You know about it?"

Shigeo was mortified, the last thing he needed was Mezato telling Emi everything about that cult. He really hopes she didn't mention him...

"Yeah, I told her a few details since we had to interview a few ex-members."

"Oh I see..."

"So... Are you up for an interview?"

"Eh sure"

"Great! Thank you so much, Mob-kun!"

"Ahh, it' s getting late though... Maybe we should interview Kageyama-kun tomorrow?"

"Ehh but...!"

"She's right. You kids should be going home, perhaps you can ask him while you walk home"

"Oh yeah, that'll work"

"In that case, goodbye!"

"See you tomorrow master!"

"Bye!"

"It was a pleasure to meet you, Reigen-san!"

And so the three teens separated from Reigen and went home. While they were walking Mezato started the questions.

"So Mob-kun, do you by any chance remember what happened to the sacred tree?"

"The sacred tree? Why do ask?"

"Well it dissappeared so suddenly and apparently no one remembers anything, so I thought maybe you knew something?"

"Well, sorry but I also don't remeber much..."

Nop. He was not telling Mezato about that one, it was way too embarrasing, and traumatic. Worse, he acted totally ridiculous after what Emi had said about his 'popularity', if he tells them he would definitely die of embarrassment.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah..."

"You are a terrible liar. Its kind of ironic considering you're lack of expression, no offence "

"None taken..."

"So I guess you were directly involved with the disappearance of the tree considering you tryied to lie. So tell us, what do you know?"

Damn it. There was no escaping this, he was going to have to tell everything.

"Okay, I'll admit it, it was me who made the tree disappear, it al began with..."

-*FIVE MINUTES LATER*-

"Oh my god I'm so sorry Kageyama-kun! If only I hadn't teased you it wouldn't have happened!"

"No,no! It's okay! Really! You don't have to apologise, it wasn't you're fault I acted like a total moron!"

After hearing everything that happened the day the tree dissappeared Emi couldn't help but to get extremely ashamed, to think teasing Mob could lead to such a big problem! She felt like an awful friend!

Meanwhile Mob was burning up with embarrasment, he even made Emi ashamed of herself,she was going as far as to start apologizing to him even though she didn't do anything wrong. Now he wished that she actually laughed at him instead of apologizing.

As for Mezato... well Mezato was laughing at them. It was just so funny to see them blushing and apologizing to each other while trying to take the blame. So cute! Whou would have tought that Mob would take a little teasing to heart?

"Hahaha! Oh dear, this story is priceless!"

"Ughh!"

"..."

Both Mob and Emi stopped talking and blushed even more after hearing Mezato laugh at them.

"Haha, wow Emi-chan who knew you were such a trouble maker? Next time remind me to never let you tease anyone, you may provoke the destruction of the world!"

"Shut up Mezato!"

Ughh...! This was definetly the worst day of her life, so embarrasing!

"Emi-san didn't have the fault Mezato-san..."

Said Mob trying to help Emi in her embarrasment.

"Yeah yeah, I know! Oh well, I guess this explains everything, know I can finally go home after solving the mystery of the sacred tree!"

"You're not going to publish this in an article at school right?"

Asked Emi warily, after everything that happened today, she no longer trusted Mezato.

"Mezato-san please don't say anything about this!"

"Yeesh, calm down guys! Of course I'm not going to tell anyone! I'm not that unrealiable."

At that statement both Emi and Mob shot her identicall looks that screamed they believed the contrary.

"Well that's mean."

"..."

"Just don't say anything Mezato"

"Oh yeah! Emi-chan come tomorrow to the club, we'll publish your story!"

"Really? Thanks!"

"Well, see ya'!"

With that Mezato separated from them and went home.

"Well, guess this is where we split"

"Yeah... Umm, Emi-san could we... Well, can we agree to never speak of this ever again?"

"Talk about what?"

"Yeah, exactly."

"Well, goodbye, see you at school!"

"Yeah, bye!"

And so the day ended up with an amused Mezato and two almost-dead-of-embarrasment Mob and Emi.


	3. THE WITCH OF THE MOUNTAIN

It was a sunday morning, the sky was clear and the weather was nice. A brunette girl with short hair and emerald eyes was walking to the library, she carried a bag and looked determined to acomplish the task of finding the information for her new novel.

Emi was currently working on a new project, this time she wanted to write a horror story. She had heard a while ago while she was walking through the corridors of Salt Middle School that a lot of the students seemed to be suddenly interested in an old rumour about the murder of the Adashino family that had happened a week ago. The rumour she heard said that the murder of the family was somehow connected to an old curse casted upon the city two hundred years ago by a witch who lived in the now abandoned house at the top of Seasoning City's mountain.

She could only catch that short glimpse of the story, but those few seconds had managed to pick her interest. After thinking about the story the whole day, Emi decided to search more about it at home, and the more she searched the more she felt inspired to write a new novel. And so, Emi ended up in the library to try and see if she could find anything that could be related to the curse in the city's old archive.

"Ughh, did we really have to come this early? It's a sunday! Ten in the morning is an ungodly hour for a sunday!"

"Hey! Do I have to remind you that YOU were the one who wanted to research information about the curse, Tome senpai?"

"Of course I wanted to, but not this early Mezato!"

"Well then why don't you at least help me look for information instead of bitching around so you can go home sooner to sleep again?"

"That just wouldn't work... Once I wake up I can no longer return to my precious sleep!"

"Ughh, you are awful! And ten in the morning is a reasonable hour..."

Mezato Ichi and Kurata Tome currently were at Seasoning City's old archive at the library. The two girls had decided to come here to search about the new popular rumour at school about the curse of the Adashino family after Tome had contacted Mezato the previous day to ask her for help in the research. Mezato, despite being a little esceptic at first, eventually gave up and accepted Tome's request. After all, Mezato was a little bit interested in the rumour herself, and considering she had been involved with the LOL cult and knew of Mob's power, working to solve the mystery of an ancient curse seemed perfectly fitting for her. As for Tome, well she was just doing what she liked the most: search for the paranormal.

While the two girls were arguing Emi suddenly entered the room subsecuently getting the attention of both girls who stopped and turned to look at her.

"Oh! Ermm... Hey!"

Greeted Emi akwardly upon seeing the girls' gazes directed to her.

"Hey, you are also from Salt Middle school right?"

Asked Mezato.

"Yeah, I think I'm in the class next to yours"

"Hey! Aren't you the girl who confessed to Mob?"

"E-eh?!"

Tome blurted out the question after recognizing Emi who got red as a tomato while Mezato could only look at them surprised after hearing such a thing.

"She what now?!"

"Hoeee! I em-I-I...that's not what! Err...no-I!"

Emi started to stutter not really knowing how she could answer Tome's question. Just how was she supposed to tell her it had actually been a cruel bet her friends forced her to do? This was so embarrasing!

"Wow, breath girl, breath!"

"Tome is not even been a minute and you already scared her!"

"Hey! How was I supposed to know she would react like this?!"

"Oh my God Tome, you can't just ask people if they have confessed to Mob!"

"Ehh? Says who?!"

"Says ME!"

"Ughh!"

"Hoeee!"

"Anyway, lets talk about something else, it looks as if you are going to pass out of embarrasment"

"T-thanks..."

"So- what's ya' name? Mines Kurata Tome, but you can just call me Tome and this is Mezato Ichi, as you have seen she is a little grumpy..."

"Hey!"

"Nice to meet you Tome, I'm Takeda Emi, you can call me Emi"

"So, Emi-chan... What brings you this part of the library?"

Asked Tome.

"Oh, are you here to write about something? I've seen you writing sometimes in the recess"

Said Mezato.

"Oh, I'm here to, ermm... Search about a rumour of a curse, I guess you've heard about it too?"

"Wow! What a coincidence, Mezato and I are also here because of that! Say Emi, are you interested in the paranormal?"

"Eh, I guess, I mean it's interesting sometimes"

"I know right?! Hey, what do you think about those images?"

Tome stood up from where she was sitting and exitedly went to where Emi was as she pulled out a series of photographs from her jacket's pocket.

"Look. Mezato didn't want to see them when I asked her, she thinks it's a waste of time..."

"Those photos are obviously going to be fake. It's lame to even bother to look at them!"

"No it's not! You're just a party pooper!"

Tome passed the photos to Emi who took them in her hands.

"So... What do you think? The first one is a sea monster they found dead in a beach. Some say it could be a new species!"

The first photo showed what could be recognized as a giant mass of white hair and some parts that could have been from a kind of sea animal, though the quality wasn't very clear and it was hard to recognize any feature that could give away clue about the species.

"Oh, I think I've seen this one before. Eh, but isn't this just a globster?"

"A globster? Whats that? Is it a monster?!"

"Eh, no. It's actually just the name given to organic dead masses that can't be identified due to the descomposition of the body. The white hair is actually just the colagen and the connective tissue of the animal. In this case I'd say is probably a dead whale due to it's size, I'm not sure though..."

"Oh. Then what about the second one? Some people think they could be alien eggs under the subway of Russia!"

"Those are just worm collonies. They are commonly found in dark, damp places like the sewer."

"Well, how about the third one? That's a chupacabra right? The mexican monster that eats the cattle!"

"Nop. It's just a coyotte with scabies."

"The megalodon?"

"It's impossible for it to still be alive. It's size is too big, with how small the animals are nowadays it would need a ridiculous amount of food in order to keep living. The oceans don't have enough meat for it, that's why only 'small' species of sharks were able to keep being alive."

"But it could be alive in the abyss of the sea right?"

"No. That is not how the theory of evolution and the chain food work."

"Well... How about this one?"

"That one is from a movie"

"Oh..."

"Jajajaja! Oh my god she just destroyed all of your 'arguments'!"

"S-shut up! How was I supposed to know they weren't real?"

"Well Emi sure didn't have a problem when giving an explanation!"

"Eh, but that is just because I used to watch a lot of documentaries about those kind of things when I was little! It's perfectly normal you don't know about the scientific explanations!"

"You still could have done more research Tome senpai!"

"Ughh... My life is a LIE!"

"Oh don't be so dramatic!"

"P-please don't feel bad!"

"A-anyway! Say Emi, what do you know about the rumour?"

"Eh? Ah, well I've heard that it was cursed casted upon the city two hundred years ago and some people say it is related to the recent murder of the Adashino family... Apart from that I still haven't found much except for some similar murder cases in the internet."

"Wait, there are MORE related cases? Mezato how come we didn't realize?"

"I don't know, maybe it was because you have an awful tendency to act before thinking?"

"Ouch! You didn't have to be so mean..."

"Emm, I have the cases printed out in here, if you want to read them..."

Offered Emi as she pulled out of her bag a carpet full of papers and photos. Ahe handed them to Tome and Mezato who eagerly started reading them with interest.

...

"So... we have like five cases, all with the disappearance of a family member of the victims under mysterious circumstances and later the murder of the families."

Summarized Mezato after reading all of the cases.

"Yes, it seems that it all started with the Higurashi family, shortly after they moved to their new house near the mountain of Season city."

Said Emi.

"Which is where the house of Noroi, the witch of the mountain, is located"

Added Tome.

"Exactly, and we know that all of them were brutal murders and that there is a forty year long gap between each murder, meaning that there is some kind of cycle that repeats itself whenever said time happens"

Mezato said while writing down a timeline in her notebook where she started to locate each case while Tome revised the photos.

"Firstly we have the disappearance of the Higurashi's oldest son, who was never found, and then their murder by an axe to the head on each of the family members; secondly we have the Saotome family, their youngest daughter also disappeared after going out to play and was never found, the family was burned alive in their house and after investigating the police concluded that the fire was started intentionally. There is also the Tsukihiro family and the Shinomoto family, same story: a family member disappears, the father with the Tsukihiros and the mother with the Shinomotos, and then the family was killed by being stabbed repeteadlyin the first one and being drowned in the pool with the second one. Lastly we have the Adashino family that was recently murdered."

"And the only difference is that in the last one, apart from the eldest son Touya, the youngest daughter is still alive"

Added Emi while showing them the most resent update about the case in the news.

"Apparently she miraculously survived to being stabbed and is currently in the town's hospital under police custody."

"Have they interrogated her?"

Asked Tome.

"No, she's in an induced coma due to bloodloss, it says here that the police is still waiting for her to recover consiousness"

"So, there is clearly a pattern between all of those murders, but how can we relate them with the rumoured curse?"

Questioned Mezato after taking a short moment to process all the information. Even if there were similarities between the cases they still needed to guess how the legend of Noroi fitted in all of this.

"What do you know about the legend of Noroi?"

Started Tome looking at the other girls.

"Mm, well it is said that around 1800 there was a lonely woman who lived in a house at the top of Season city's mountain. Her real name still remains unknown to this day, but people call her Noroi. There are a lot of versions of her story so I don't really know which one could be the original..."

"Well, don't worry Emi-chan! I, as your great senpai, have made my own research about the legend and can tell you the original story!"

"Tome-senpai doing actual research? No way, it's a miracle!"

"Hey! If I want to I can make a great effort into investigating things!"

"Yeah, whatever just tell us the story"

"Fine. As Emi-chan said, Noroi was a woman who lived in the mountain alone. All of the legend's versions describe her as beautiful woman with long, straigh black hair, red lips like blood and dark eyes that had an aura of great knowledge and mystery. No one knew were she had come from, no one knew her real name nor did they know why she lived in the mountain. She did not speak with anyone in town and only ever went out of her house to seek for herbs or food in the forest. She was a strange woman, people used to say she was a witch, others said she was a murderer, some thought she had sold her soul to the devil and the rest said she was crazy. In reality she was just a normal woman who prefered to live calmly away from the town. Anyway, not so long after Noroi had moved to the mountain, there was suddenly an epidemic in the town that killed almost all of the kids, no one in the town had ever seen such a terrible disease before. The whole town was devastated from the deaths of the children and wanting to desperatetly find comfort in an explanation numerous rumours appeared speculating about the cause of the epidemic. People started to suspect Noroi, they started to whisper about having seen her poisoning the well were people drank from and others claimed they had seen her praying to the devil at night in the forest. Of course, there was no proof that those claims were true, yet people were uneasy about her and were scared of what she could do. It wasn't until a month since the illness disappeared when a crucial event occurred that would seal Noroi's unfortunate destiny. It was noon when a father and his son went to hint to the forest near the mountain when they suddenly saw Noroi standing in front of what looked like a cave. Both father and son came running to town, their faces where pale and their expresion was completely horrified, when people asked what had happened they said Noroi was talking alone when suddenly a strong wind appeared and a lot of rocks started floating around her. This was the ultimate proof the vilagers needed to aknowledge she was a witch, and so,they decided to kill her. I guess you already know how the story ends..."

"Of course, almost everyone knows Noroi's famous last words. It was midnight, Noroi was going back to her home after having spent the entire day at the forest, the vilagers were waiting for her at her house and once she arrived they took her by the arms and tied her up with ropes and carried her down the mountain. There, in the middle of the town laid the preparations for a bonfire. Noroi screamed as she desperately tryed to free herself, it didn't matter how much she cried or pleaded for live, everyone was decided to burn her"

Continued Mezato.

"They atached her to the bonfire and started to set her in fire, soon Noroi realized she was bound to die there, and so, with her last breath she decided to place a curse to the people, her words filled with hatred echoed throughout the hole town: You who dared to spill inocent blood, you who judge under ignorance and fear, you who think it is in your power to sentence a soul without proof, I curse you for etenrnity! My spirit shall come back from the grave yearning for revenge, remember my words for I will return to claim the blood of your descendants and torture them as you did to me!"

"So you know the story, however even if we know the origin of the curse we still don't know why were those families chosen. What is the relation they have with Noroi? Are they the descendants of the people who killed her?"

Wondered Tome. It was a tragic story, however knowing the story still did not gave them any clue of how could it be related to the crimes, there was something that was missing and the three of them were decided to find out what it was.

"Well we know they used to live near the mountain, why don't we go look around the houses were the crimes happened? After all, the directions are all here in the files."

"Good idea Emi-chan! Lets go!"

"Please wait, Tome-senpai. It's already too late, we should go look for clues another day, I need to go back home."

"Mezato-san is right, we have school tomorrow, we can't stay out for too long. Maybe we can go next friday?"

"Oh, okay! Works for me! How 'bout ya', Mezato-chan?"

"Luckily for you I'm free that day, so yeah, lets do this!"

"Then its settled then, we have a mystery to solve!"

And so, the three girls picked their stuff, said goodbye and went home. This case was big, it was an intriguing mystery and they were nervous but also exited, and as each of them walked home they thought about what they would find, their hearts pounding with joy and longing to meet with each other soon.


End file.
